Age is a Risk in Heart Surgery
Reported November 24, 2005
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — As the number of people older than 80 increases, a new study shows the importance of considering age before undergoing heart surgery. The study reported in this month’s Archives of Surgery indicates age alone is a risk factor for increased mortality and morbidity when taking into consideration other related risks.
Patients older than 80 have a 72-percent higher risk of death, a 51-percent higher risk of neurological complications, and are 49-percent more likely to have to undergo repeat surgery due to bleeding when compared to patients younger than 80.
Researchers uncovered these results when controlling for other variables that could add to increased risk of death and complications. Such variables included race, sex, hypertension, pulmonary complications, neurological complications, and use of tobacco.
W. Michael Johnson, M.D., and colleagues from Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, say the growing number of octogenarians make these findings especially important. In 2000, 4.2 million Americans were age 85 or older. By the year 2030 that number is expected to rise to 8.9 million. Nearly 40 percent of octogenarians suffer from cardiovascular disease, meaning many will be recommended for heart surgery.
Knowing age is a clear predictor of death and complications following heart surgery, Dr. Johnson says, “It is therefore incumbent on researchers to develop more refined algorithms to predict postoperative outcomes.” He then says, “As this study indicates, age should be considered a component of any such algorithm.”
Earlier studies have suggested octogenarians are at increased risk for postoperative death but until this study, it was unclear whether age was an independent risk factor.
SOURCE: Archives of Surgery, 2005;140:1089-1093
